Amuse-Bouche
by newbie93
Summary: A place where any and all smaller drabbles, teeny one-shots, and brief ficlets will live out their days in some semblance of organized chaos.
1. Cardinal Offense

_**Prompt: I overheard you trash-talking my favorite character at the cinema and that just will not do.**_

* * *

"…she just isn't actually a character who's fleshed-out enough to warrant her own television show. That's all I'm saying."

Jemma grinds her teeth as the faceless man behind her ends his five-minute rant about the one of the most empowering female characters of the past decade, clenching her fists at her side and doing her utmost to keep her breaths even and her temper in check.

"And don't even get me _started_ on Peggy Carter."

 _That's it._

She whips around, pushing past the people waiting behind her in line and following the grating voice of the Scottish idiot who has _zero_ knowledge about what makes for a compelling cinematic character. When she finally locates the insufferable Scot, she plants herself in front of him and promptly jabs a finger in his chest.

"Margaret Carter is one of the strongest and most well-developed female heroines in cinematic history and I will _not_ listen to you blather on with all of your… your incorrect thoughts and opinions and… and sheer _dumbness._ "

The man looks at her in shock for a long moment, mouth opening and closing in fine imitation of a fish, before he glances helplessly at the man beside him, who seems to be crying with laughter. When he looks back at her, eyes flitting to the finger that is still firmly pressed to his chest, Jemma removes her hand and crosses her arms in vexation as she stares him down.

Their close proximity means that she can take in every detail of the dummy in front of her, the slight sheen of sweat from standing in the glaring sun as well as each individual piece of stubble that covers his chin. She can just as easily spot the bob of his Adam's apple as he nervously gulps at her, shifting uncomfortably before ducking his head and mumbling so softly that she likely wouldn't be able to hear him were it not for the fact that she had already popped his personal bubble.

"I… I wasn't going to _diss_ Peggy Carter. I just… when I said not to get me started on her I meant… I was just going to say how preposterous it is that _she_ only got two seasons to tell her story when her poorly-written male counterparts have ten pictures to tell _theirs._ I actually… I quite admire Peggy Carter. Reminds me of my mum."

Now it's _she_ who is staring with her mouth open as she processes the fact that the blue-eyed man she'd _thought_ was an utter imbecile perhaps has decent taste after all.

"Oh."

She blinks a bit sluggishly as she takes him in again, blue eyes bashfully flicking between the ground and her own as one hand rubs nervously against his neck. She finds it to be rather adorable actually and feels her own face grow a bit red at the thought.

"Right. That's… that's… I quite agree. Peggy deserved better."

The man glances up at her, a tentative smile working its way across his face as he begins to nod eagerly, and Jemma tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she shyly returns it. They stare at each other for a long moment, Jemma feeling herself growing increasingly school-girly with each passing second, before a snort of laughter comes from her right.

"Right well… Perhaps you can spare me from having to listen to Fitz ramble on about it for the next half hour and take my place in line here. This film looks like shite and I'd rather spend my money on a pint 'round the corner."

Jemma feels her mouth drop at the statement, hears an affronted scoff come from her other side, and launches into the argument that she'd been ready for since first waltzing over.

"Do you have _any_ idea how long people have been waiting for…"

"Black Widow has deserved her own film since her _first_ cameo and…"

"…can't even _believe_ you would say that it looks like…"

"…shite?! Do you have no understanding of…"

"…good storytelling and developed characters and you can take your pint…"

"…and shove it."

She's a bit out of breath by the end of it but instead focuses on the fact that she had just partaken in a _team-up_ argument. She glances over at ( _Fitz was it?)_ and grins at the pleased expression on his face. He catches her eye, giving her a beaming smile that makes Jemma think that perhaps he won't argue with her next proposal.

"As to your proposition, I will _happily_ take your place. It'd be a shame to waste a perfectly good ticket on someone who won't appreciate the utter wonder that is Natasha Romanoff. Fitz and I will have a nice debate or two in the meantime, won't we?"

He's looking at her again in complete surprise and Jemma holds her breath for a moment as she waits for him to nod along in agreement or shake his head in denial. He does neither, instead turning back to his friend and giving him a small shove before pointing in a general direction.

"Yeah bugger off Hunter. Me and…"

"Jemma."

"Jemma, right. Me and _Jemma_ are gonna watch Black Widow kick some butt and discuss the probability of Peggy Carter making her way to Netflix."

Her eyes light up at the mention and she immediately turns to Fitz to discuss the multitude of reasons why a Netflix revival would be _wonderful_ for the Peggy Carter legacy. He cuts in sporadically, nodding his head in agreement and scoffing before each rebuttal, and before Jemma knows it, they're settled down in the cinema with a bucket of popcorn between them and twin faces of excitement as the Black Widow logo appears on screen.

She grins whenever Fitz leans over to make a comment, giggles when he shivers as she does the same, and ducks down with a blush when the other movie-goers shush them into silence.

And while she finds the sugar content of Slurpees to be utterly horrifying, she can't help but admire their sweetness when she presses her lips to Fitz's as the credits roll, tasting the artificial cherry flavoring with her tongue and silently thanking Peggy Carter for this happy turn of events.


	2. Ferry Godmother

_**Prompt: "Our mutual friend dropped out of this trip at the last minute so, hi I guess we're spending the next week together."**_

* * *

"Daisy where _are_ you? The ferry leaves in four minutes!"

He himself had just _barely_ managed to push his way past the vacationing families to get a nice spot at the back of the ship and knows that, with Daisy's chaotic disposition, it'll be a miracle if she manages to make it before they leave port.

"I'm _so_ sorry Fitz. Coulson just stuck me on another project and I don't think I'll be able to make it."

He's pinching the bridge of his nose before she's even finished talking because of _course_ this is happening. He and Daisy have been friends for far too long for him to be surprised by her tardiness so, rather than let his annoyance get the better of him, he simply accepts that he'll have a bit more alone time than initially expected.

"So… you're catching the next ferry then?"

The piercing silence that he's met with is alarming considering Daisy rarely lets a moment go without easy chatter and her following statement makes it even worse. "Actually… more like the next flight to L.A."

" _What?!"_

The family of four settled next to him all give matching startled looks that he ignores as best he can as he feels his previously dormant irritation begin to flare up.

"I'm sorry! Coulson wants our new clients to feel like we actually give a shit so he wants me to give them an in-person rundown of everything we'll be doing to help their cyber security."

"So when you said you don't think you'll make it…"

"I meant the trip in general, not the ferry. Well… technically the ferry too but more of the trip as a whole…"

He makes a point of taking a few steps away from the family, not wanting to be accused of scarring the young children with the endless expletives he has planned for Daisy.

" _You_ planned this. _You_ said, and I _quote,_ 'Oh Fitz, we need some more face time friend time.' _You're_ the one who found the house, _you're_ the one who booked the damn thing, _you_ made every call and now you're abandoning me on a ferry to _Nantucket?!_ Well you _can_ suck-it Daisy Johnson because this is so fuc.. _._ "

"Fitz?"

The soft voice startles him enough to put an immediate end to his rant and the accompanying face makes him forget what he'd been intending to say in the first place. He can't seem to focus on any one thing, eyes flitting from her chestnut hair to the golden hue of her gaze, and finds himself completely and utterly lost. The woman in front of him is without _question_ one that he would remember had they met before, likely because he would have done something woefully embarrassing in her presence, and he can't quite seem to grasp how _she_ seems to know _him._

"H…hi. Yes. Fitz. I'm… I'm Fitz. You… are you… do I…"

" _Fitz!"_

This time it's Daisy interrupting his rambling, her muted voice audible over the humming of the boat's motor, and he glances down at his phone in confusion before glancing back at the gorgeous woman in front of him. They hold eye contact for a few moments, his mouth open and her eyebrows raised expectantly, before she gives him a small smile and points to his phone.

He's not sure what comes over him but, rather than being a normal person and answering it himself, he thrusts his hand in front of him and all but shoves his iPhone at the total stranger. She seems to take it in stride, her brief expression of surprise transforming into one of easy acceptance as she takes the mobile and holds it to her ear.

"Daisy? Yes of course it's me who else would it be. Yes I arrived twenty minutes ago, as I _said you should._ No we didn't come together, apparently you failed to mention I was coming at all since your poor friend looks like a frightened deer. I heard a Scottish voice yelling at a Daisy and correctly assumed that you were up to your bad girl shenanigans."

The boat gives a small lurch as she speaks and Fitz instinctively reaches out to steady her as the ferry begins to move. She gives him an appreciative smile that causes an immediate blush to spread across his cheeks and all he can do is hope that she'll assume the redness is due to poor sunscreen application rather than a reaction to her toothy grin.

"Oh _really?_ How convenient. No I'm sure you're absolutely devastated. No of course I don't think you planned this. Yes I'm sure you'll make it up to us."

She gives a small eye roll at that, wrinkling her nose in his direction and causing a small chuff of laughter to escape him. He feels a bit creepy just blatantly ogling her as the sun hits her fair skin and glowing eyes, so he glances down at the waves as she continues.

"Alright well, have a smashing time in L.A. or wherever it is you're really going. Fitz and I will take full advantage of this pre-paid vacation and use it to plan how to make your life miserable when we get back. Mmmhmmm. Love you too."

She hands the phone back to him with another eye roll before mirroring his position and leaning up against guard rail and watching the mainland shrink in the distance.

"Evidently Daisy shan't be joining us."

"Yeah I gathered. Bloody typical."

She lets out a laugh at that, nodding in commiseration before shifting slightly to extend a hand. "I'm Jemma by the way. Jemma Simmons."

The name causes a million light bulbs to go off in his head and Fitz internally groans at the easy trap that Daisy had set for him. She's spent the better part of the last three months trying to convince him to have drinks with her, "sciencey and stuff," neighbor and had grown increasingly persistent about them being perfect for each other before letting the subject drop entirely.

He should have _known_ that her sudden lack of interest in his love life was just a façade because of _course_ she would make it her mission to see this through.

 _Planned a bloody honeymoon for us as the first date._

He gives a disbelieving shake of the head as he grasps _Jemma's_ hand in his own and chuckles his own name as a reply. He feels his irritation with Daisy begin to diminish as Jemma continues to look at him with that soft grin and molten eyes, and feels something lurch when she gives him a quick wink.

"Well Fitz, I suppose we're stuck together huh?"

As he looks at the grin on her face, the raw intelligence of her gaze, and the smattering of freckles across her nose, Fitz can't help but think that _stuck with_ is the absolute last way he would describe spending the next week on an island with only Jemma Simmons for company.


	3. Gold Digger

_**From the prompt: "A romantic scene in an unromantic place."**_

* * *

"What in the _hell_ are you two doing?!"

The question causes Fitz to immediately stiffen and he shares a panicked look with Daisy before slowly turning around and catching sight of a bleary-eyed Jemma in her pajamas and looking as though she's a second away from shipping them off to the nearest asylum. Slipping on an unidentifiable brown _thing_ that is _way_ stickier than anything he's comfortable being this close to _,_ Fitz clambers over to the ledge of the dumpster that he and S.H.I.E.L.D's resident Inhuman have spent the past forty minutes rooting through and gives his girlfriend a nervous smile as he frantically tries to explain what it is she's just stumbled upon.

"Umm…"

 _Think you idiot!_

"I… we…"

 _Anything! Say anything!_

"I was… and then Daisy…"

Each fractured sentence he manages to squeeze out causes Jemma's eyes to narrow further and Fitz feels his throat begin to close as he watches the suspicion on her face grow.

 _You're so busted._

Just as he's about to throw in the towel and confess everything, Daisy joins him at the ledge and takes full advantage of both her espionage skills and Jemma's trusting nature.

"It's my fault Simmons. I think I accidentally threw away that SSR coin Coulson asked me to hold on to. Of course _Koenig_ already emptied all of the trash bins on the base so I figured this was the only place it could have wound up. The garbage truck comes first thing in the morning and I knew there was no chance of me finding it in time so I forced Fitz to help me out."

It's silent for a beat, Fitz nodding his head at Daisy's words and silently praying that Jemma actually _believes_ them, and he holds his breath as she processes the excuse presented to her. Her eyes are flitting between the two of them and he feels the sweat begin to prickle against his forehead until she gives a small shrug of acceptance.

"Oh, okay. Well then why didn't you just use the DWARFs?"

As soon as the question leaves Jemma's mouth, Fitz wants to bury himself beneath the trash in shame. Instead he settles for letting his head fall against the metal container as he realizes that he'd been so focused on finding the damn thing that he'd quite literally jumped headfirst into a _dumpster_ before trying to find an easier, less _disgusting,_ way to do it.

When the thought of just what it is his head is touching flits through his mind, Fitz quickly pushes himself away from the ledge and notices that Daisy is blinking in confusion by his side.

"Wh…"

Jemma takes a step closer, wrinkling her nose as she gets a better look at how filthy they both are, and explains just what it is that Fitz had failed to consider when he'd burst into the common room and frantically begged Daisy to sort through two weeks worth of a government base's trash.

"The DWARFs... They're literally designed to track specific materials, remember? We can just input the components of whatever alloy was used to make the coin and they should be able to find it in no time if it really did wind up here."

Jemma's uncanny ability to be kind while simultaneously making one feel like a complete and utter idiot is on full display now and Fitz feels himself shrink a little as he watches Daisy register her words.

"Wow. That is a _very_ good point, Simmons. I honestly did not think of that. To be fair, _I'm_ not the one who invented those little suckers."

Slowly turning to him with the fakest smile he's ever seen, one that makes it clear his life will likely become a living hell for the foreseeable future, Daisy raises an inquisitive brow and grits out, "Fitz, why didn't _you_ suggest using _your_ robots to find the stupid r...elic?"

Nervously rubbing his neck, he gives Daisy a look that he hopes conveys how much he knows he owes her and hastily explains, "I just… I guess I was so worked up that I didn't use my head. Kind of just panicked because I know how important the umm... the coin… is, and I didn't take the time to think. 'M sorry"

Daisy's glare softens infinitesimally at his words and Fitz hopes that he'll get a pass for this one considering all of the mitigating factors that were in play. So focused on silently begging his friend for her forgiveness, Fitz momentarily forgets about Jemma until her cheerful voice breaks the silence of the night.

"Okay, well I'll just grab them and we should be able to find that coin in no time!"

At once he and Daisy snap their heads in Jemma's direction and watch in horror as she begins to make her way back towards the base.

"No! Jemma that's really not necessary."

"Seriously, Simmons, no need for you to lose any more sleep than you already have."

"Oh nonsense, it'll take _minutes._ You'll be here all night otherwise." She pauses for a moment before leaning closer with a grin. "It's a bit thrilling, isn't it? Feels like a treasure hunt!" She gives them another bright smile before turning back around and scurrying towards the entrance of the Playground, stepping out of sight before either of them can stop her.

They stare at the closed door for a few long moments before Fitz quietly hisses, "Well, forget about getting it before the garbage truck comes. _Now_ we have to find it before Jemma does!"

At that, Daisy turns to him with wide eyes that narrow as she punches him in the arm with force that she typically reserves for Hydra mercenaries.

"Ow! Bloody… what was _that_ for?!"

Gaping at him in what he can only describe as rage-astonishment, Daisy gesticulates wildly around them. "What was that for?! You made me climb into a _dumpster_ to try and find something that one of your damn robots could have gotten in a minute! Look at me, Fitz! Do you know how many showers we're going to need before this _smell_ goes away?! I'm going to need _so much_ hand sanitizer after this."

"Look, I'm _really_ sorry. I honestly just panicked when I realized what happened and… you know. Been a bit stressed lately, wasn't using my head."

Ducking down and staring at where his legs disappear beneath a black bag of spoiled fruit and veg, Fitz is sure that he looks every bit as pitiful as he feels and Daisy's exasperated groan only confirms it. Her muttered, "The things I do for you," causes him to lift his head in hope, a tentative smile breaking out at the annoyed affection on her face. He desperately wants to hug her right now but they're both absolutely disgusting so he settles for a _slightly_ watery smile instead. She rolls her eyes in typical Daisy fashion and, when she gives him an affectionate cuff on the head, he knows that she won't go to bed _too_ angry with him.

"Well come on then! We have like, four minutes before your girlfriend comes back and it took us _forty_ to make it through like _ten_ percent of this damn dumpster so… we're basically screwed."

Groaning at her words Fitz nods his head and makes his way back to the section of garbage he'd been rummaging through when Jemma had surprised them. Blanching in disgust, he resumes sifting through all of the old food and miscellaneous products that had been disposed of in the hopes that he or Daisy might actually manage to find his candy stash before Jemma returns.

Unfortunately, all either of them come across is trash and _more_ trash, meaning that, by the time the Playground door is opening a few minutes later, they've both come up empty.

Feeling his heart sink at the realization that he's mucked this up, Fitz hangs his head when Daisy mumbles, "Damn."

Jemma of course is positively buoyant when she comes to a stop beside them, happily brandishing the DWARF case in one hand while holding a tablet in the other. "Here we are!" Pausing just long enough to grimace at their predicament, Jemma beckons them forward and says, "Why don't you two... climb on out of there. The drones should be more than capable of taking things from here."

Silently agreeing with Daisy's emphatic, " _Gladly_ ," Fitz hoists himself over the edge of the container and lands with a wince on the concrete below. Shuffling his way over to Jemma, stopping with a huff of laughter when she wrinkles her nose and shakes her head, Fitz tries to guess how much time he has before what had already gone very much to shit goes even further. Bending down to fiddle with the DWARF case, he buys himself a few extra seconds and fumbles with the latches as he flips them open before rising to watch Jemma work.

"Do you happen to know anything about the metal used in the coin?"

Quickly shooting him a look of panic and mouthing, "What do I say?!" while Jemma's eyes are focused on the tablet, Daisy gives a small shrug before answering, "Umm… it's silvery? White gold maybe? I don't know, Simmons. It's shiny."

Letting out a low hum, Jemma gives him a conspiratorial look before returning her gaze to Daisy and giving her a smile that would seem patronizing were it on anyone else's face.

"Shiny… okay… that's, that's not a whole lot to work with but I pulled up some of the data from when I inventoried a few of Coulson's _other_ SSR pieces so hopefully that'll be a good place to start."

Forced smile frozen in place, Daisy nods slowly and says, "Yeah that's… that's great! That's really helpful Simmons, thanks."

Letting out a defeated sigh, Fitz scuffs his shoe against the pavement before pointing to one of the options illuminated on Jemma's tablet and murmuring, "It's vibranium. We're looking for vibranium."

He ignores both the sympathetic and slightly suspicious looks that Daisy and Jemma are respectively wearing, clearing his throat slightly and keeping his eyes on the tablet.

"Oh! Well that should make things much easier. I doubt the drones could confuse vibranium with anything else."

Letting out a small laugh at that, Jemma quickly inputs the information and takes a step back to give the DWARFs some space. Rising from the case, they whir and hover for a moment until Jemma sends them off with one tap of the screen.

Fidgeting as they disappear into the dumpster, Fitz lets out another sigh, shooting Daisy an appreciative smile when she squeezes his shoulder with a grimace. It's silent save for the buzzing of the machines as Jemma keeps her focus on the readings popping up on the tablet and he keeps his eyes on the metal container in front of them.

Months of work and planning, ruined because of the damn trash.

 _Bloody he..._

"Oh! Looks like they've found something."

The immediate feeling of relief that floods him at the fact that the vibranium hasn't been lost forever is quickly replaced by disappointment. Exchanging a wary look with Daisy, Fitz shuffles closer to Jemma and bites his lip as the data keeps pouring in.

"Hmm… yes, an object reading high levels of vibranium… measuring about 17 millimeters in diameter… Does that sound about right, Daisy?"

Glancing over at the woman in question, Jemma raises a brow and waits for her to confirm that the readings do in fact match the description of what she's lost.

"What? Oh… yup. That seems legit. Typical… typical coin size."

"Alrighty then. Let's proceed."

Tapping out a chain of commands, Jemma refocuses her attention on the tablet and gives a satisfied hum when the whirring of the drones intensifies. It's only another minute before all of the DWARFs pop up from the edge, Sneezy taking the rear with a bag of candy dangling from its extended claw.

Shifting his gaze to Daisy, he gives a quick nod at her silent _Is that it?_ and feels his lips turn up in an _almost_ smile when she claps her hands and catches Jemma's attention. Jerking her head in the direction of the base, she begins to back away from them with wide eyes and two thumbs up as she says, "Wow, _really_ nice work Jemma! I'm actually pretty beat so I'm just going to… go now. Y'know, shower until either the hot water is gone or this stench goes away. See ya!"

"Wh… _Daisy!"_

Staring after their friend with her mouth open, Jemma lets out a noise of shock when Daisy bolts for the door and lets it close behind her without so much as looking back. Turning to face him in astonishment, she raises her hands in question while exclaiming, "What the hell was _that? Honestly_ , to rope you into wading through trash to find something _she_ lost and then leave? Unbelievable!"

Groaning at the words, Fitz moves over to Sneezy and snatches the bag from the drone's clutches before plucking the bot from the air and powering it down. Shuffling his way back to Jemma, he gently packs the DWARF away while mumbling, "Daisy didn't lose anything."

"What?"

Standing up with an exhale, he moves to run his free hand through his hair until he catches sight of what's _on_ it and hastily shifts to get it as far away from his face as possible. Balling it at his side instead, he takes a breath and mutters, "I did," as he releases it.

Brows furrowing in confusion, Jemma shakes her head. "Fitz…"

"I'm the one who accidentally lost something, _I'm_ the one who asked for help rummaging through the waste, I'm the one who forgot about the _bloody_ drones. Daisy was helping _me,_ not the other way around."

Taking another breath and glancing at Jemma long enough to see the look of confusion still firmly affixed to her face, Fitz reaches into the half-empty bag of sweets and pushes aside the wrapped chocolates until he spots what it is that has caused so much trouble this evening. Pausing for a moment to catch her eye, Fitz lets out another sigh and grabs the offending object from where it's nestled between Twix and Kit-Kats.

She lets out a sharp gasp when he pulls out the small box from the bag, staring at it for what feels like an eternity before her eyes flit up to meet his own. There's a watery sheen to them that he's sure is reflected in his own and all he can do is give a small shrug and even smaller smile. Her gaze flickers back to the box now resting innocuously in the palm of his hand and Fitz feels his smile grow as he watches her mind process and piece together everything that's going on. It takes only a few more seconds before her gaze is returning to his as dawning realization crosses her face.

" _That's_ why you were so upset with me for chucking your sweets."

The statement pulls a genuine belly laugh from him and Fitz finds the disappointment over the turn of events disappear at the expression on Jemma's face. Rolling his eyes with a grin, Fitz tosses the box into the air and watches happily as Jemma follows it with her gaze.

"Believe it or not Simmons, having my Milky Ways thrown in the trash isn't exactly something that I'd start tearing up over."

Raising a brow, Jemma crosses her arms over her chest, looking nonplussed as she dryly comments, "You have _before._ "

Mouth dropping in indignation, Fitz tightens his grip around the box and takes a step forward as he points an accusing finger in Jemma's direction. "Oh… that was _one_ time! And I hadn't slept in two days! I can't be held liable for how my body naturally reacts with that little sleep."

"Fitz…"

"And you _promised_ not to bring that up again!"

" _Fitz."_

"Honestly it's just _rude_ is what it is… teasing your boyfriend for being vulnera..."

"Fitz!"

Blinking at the feeling of fingers wrapped around his own, Fitz glances down at Jemma and feels the breath leave his body at the soft look of affection etched onto her face. Grinning down at her, he moves to brush a tendril of hair behind her ear before once again remembering how disgusting his hand is. For her part, Jemma wrinkles her nose as her eyes flit to the grime beneath his fingernails but keeps her soft smile firmly in place when he settles for leaning forward and pressing a tender kiss against her lips.

He's covered in miscellaneous DNA and scum, she's got her hair in a messy ponytail wearing nothing but her pajamas and the same tattered slippers she's had since the Academy, and Fitz is quite certain that he's never been as happy or in love as he is in this moment.

The feeling floods through him and prompts him to screw the planning and the minute details to focus on the only one that matters.

Pulling away and raising his hand until it's at Jemma's eye-level, Fitz crooks a brow and opens his fist to once again draw attention to the little black box still in his clutches. He makes a show of pinching the lid between his fingers and holding them in place as Jemma bites her lip to contain the smile that's already breaking free.

Opening the box to _finally_ expose the ring nestled within it, Fitz takes a shaky breath and makes certain to meet Jemma's eyes, brimming with unshed tears and full of as much love as he's ever seen, before launching into a speech that, despite being unplanned, seems to come naturally.

"You once asked me if I thought we'd ever find something magnificent in space…"

Releasing a watery laugh, Jemma looks at him with a beaming smile and moves her fingers to grasp his wrist. "And _you_ said we didn't need space because your nifty poster was just as good."

Grinning at the laughter on Jemma's face and light in her eyes, Fitz shuffles closer as he plucks the ring from its cushion and lets the box fall to the ground.

"I only said that because you forgot that I _already_ found something magnificent in space... I found _you."_

Fitz watches as Jemma sucks in a breath, eyes widening as she registers his words and pieces together what it is he's alluding to, and pushes forward before he loses his nerve.

"We've gone through hell time and time again Jemma, together and apart, but _every_ time we made it out stronger than when we started. We crossed through universes... actual universes _and_ virtual ones... and we _fought_ for this, for _each other_."

Nodding her head while releasing a small sniffle Jemma tightens her grip around his wrist and looks at him in a way that he still can't quite believe he's privileged enough to be on the receiving end of.

"For all of the shitty blips there have been a million incredible moments since we became FitzSimmons and I want a million more. Or at the very least a lifetime's worth."

"Oh Fitz."

"Simmons, _Jemma._ I want sunrises, breakfast nooks, cottages in Perthshire, and everything in between... and I want all that with _you._ " Pausing to take a steadying breath, he keeps his eyes locked on the woman in front of him as he finally asks, "Will you marry me?"

The question is barely out of his mouth before Jemma is leaning up and pressing her lips against his with a fervor that he's quick to match. The kiss, like everything else between them since that fateful day in chem class, is a partnership and, if he's reading things correctly, an indicator that said partnership is going to become slightly more official.

When he pulls away to catch his breath, Jemma follows and presses a smattering of kisses across his face, so similar to those she gave him when he believed their story was over, before gripping his face in her hands and looking at him with a seriousness that freezes him in place.

"I love you. I want all of those things and more and we'll _get them_ Fitz … because as good as we've always been fighting _for_ each other, we're even better fighting _with_ each other."

The snort comes out before he can rein it in and it quickly blossoms into a full-blown chuckle at the sight of Jemma furrowing her brows and shaking her head.

"That came out wrong. I meant… we're stronger _together_. Like _fighting with each_ other as a _team,_ side-by-side, not… not fighting _with_ each… stop laughing! You know what I meant, Fitz."

He wants to keep teasing her, bring up the fact that she _still_ claims she's more romantic than him, but finds himself too overwhelmed by the feelings her words evoked to bother. He knows that he likely looks like an utter dope but finds that he doesn't care in the slightest as he brushes his nose against Jemma's and murmurs, "Yeah, I know what you meant."

It's silent for a few long moments, their foreheads pressed together and smiles doing the talking for them both, before Fitz breaks it with a tentative, "Just to clarify… is that a yes?"

Jemma leans back with wide eyes before her melodic laugh cuts through the stillness of the night and she nods her head eagerly as she raises her left hand towards him. He takes the hint and slides the ring he'd spent the better part of the past two months designing and when it's finally in place, he lets out a joyous laugh at the visual.

They certainly have come a long way since the Academy, beaten more odds than most, and he has no doubt that there will be many more challenges to come. But that certainty pales in comparison to the certainty that they'll continue to overcome. It's been them against the world since first being pushed together as teens and he knows that, with as many times as they've beaten the cosmos, they'll be just fine.

The thought sends a flare of giddiness through him and he feels his cheeks begin to ache from smiling as he fully processes the fact that he and Jemma, after over a decade of friendship and years of _more than that,_ are engaged.

Grinning at the sight of Jemma staring at her hand with such blatant happiness, Fitz moves forward and kisses along her throat before pausing to whisper, perhaps a bit more huskily than usual, "How about we go to bed and start practicing for the honeymoon…"

His grin falls when Jemma gives him a sharp push before he can kiss her for real and quickly shakes her head in the negative.

"Absolutely not."

Blinking in surprise Fitz gapes down at his fianc é and realizes that she's being completely serious when she leans away.

"Wh…"

Wrinkling her nose and giving him a once-over that makes him feel more like a cockroach than a newly engaged man, Jemma proceeds to make a show of gagging as she takes a measured step back.

"You smell disgusting and while I love you in a _for the rest of our lives_ kind of way, if you think I'm doing _anything_ with you before you shower… you're not the genius I thought you were."

"Oh c'mon."

He reaches forward and feels his mouth drop when Jemma pointedly moves away with a smile and a shrug.

"Hopefully Daisy left _some_ hot water."

Jaw moving in a rather impressive impersonation of a goldfish Fitz stutters out, "You are… that's just… what kind of..."

"Fitz?

Jemma bites her lip in a way that distracts him from whatever it is he'd just been planning on saying and curls her finger around the collar of his t-shirt as she peers up and says, "I never said you had to shower _alone._ "

Giving him a mischievous smile, she steps forward to press a quick kiss to his cheek before making her way to the Playground entrance and throwing a wink over her shoulder as the door shuts behind her.

Staring after her for a few long seconds, Fitz stands frozen in place before common sense kicks in and he makes a mad dash for the door, agreeing wholeheartedly that he and Jemma can tackle _anything_ better together.


End file.
